bird in flight, along west cliff, santa cruz. patience is a must if you want to photograph birds flying. just commit yourself to staying in one place for a little while and see what happens. click on the photo to see the larger version and really enjoy the detail of the wings.

small class, hot room today. love the push of the dialogue delivered with authority. inspiring to see our little 14-year-old bender practise. she sits out of poses with no drama, no fidgeting. her discipline in class is a good example for others. she was downright stoic compared to the teenagers behind and the lady next to her. patience was the word for today, see you tomorrow ~m

i’m posting this picture in dedication to the moment. it would have been better to get both birds on the branch, but i’m not that quick. earlier today i tweeted that if i think about the realities of my life, i get freaked out, but if i focus on today, bikram, trixie & what i do have, life is good. my tweeps reminded me that i need to live in the moment, so this was the moment as it happened. a half-second late, but, still, in its own way, not that bad.

i had a fun chat with a fellow bender after i took this photo. she was saying how much she din’t like the classes without heat. we both agreed, the best bikram experience was when you had that total meltdown, like to the point where you almost start to wonder why you’re there—i love that feeling!

even though the heater wasn’t working at the beginning of class, we had a hot one today. so hot, my favorite overdressed bender took off her outer top. oh my god, jewels, i refuse to let you know i even noticed. or that it was the hottest thing ever. or that i had to remind myself to stay focused for the rest of class. nope, not going there, so forget it. xo,m

downtown santa cruz. i kinda like everything about this photo—the movement of the right foot, the lines in the sidewalk, the balloon to pant movement, but i especially like the little girl’s eyes. what a great expression too, click on the picture to enjoy the larger version and really see the food caked on her face, ha ha.

how was your day, heartbreakers? i can’t complain about mine. i had an awesome bikram class this morning and then spent the day at the beach looking at girls. this girl told me “my friend thinks you’re cute.” nice. but how old are you? i guess i should be flattered that a 17 year old girl thought i was cute. it must mean i don’t look that old, right? i wonder if i will ever meet a 40 year old woman that looks like she’s in her 20s? wow, that makes me feel so old, women in their 40s? that’s like my mom’s age, not the girls i date. wow, i just bummed myself out, realizing how old i am. but only on paper. in person, i look really young, trust me. see you tomorrow ~m

this is the ceiling decor at the greek place i went to last week. i think everyone of the “people” were different, which makes sense, i guess. it was like a little greek city.

kinda scary to read that bret michaels is in the hospital with a brain hemorrhage. his symptom? an excruciating headache. yikes. i had one of those last week and on sunday too. knock on wood that i’m okay. he’s only 7 years older than me. i’m not a poison fan, but their riffs were kinda dolls-y.

you know you dictate how your practise is gonna go. if i have time before class i like to look in the mirror and tell myself that the way i’m breathing now is the same way i’ll be breathing at the end of class. the way i’m breathing now is the way i’ll be breathing throughout class, in eagle, you’ll be breathing this easy, comfortable and relaxed. i swear this has helped me on days when i’m not feeling my strongest. set yourself up for success and you will succeed. in the hot room and out. see you tomorrow ~m

@MeiNg got me craving carnitas a few weeks ago and even though my friend treated me to tacos the other day, i was still craving more. to be honest, this would have been better if it was all charred like that one piece. and do you notice the distinct lack of black pepper in this photo? i don’t need a job to pay for teacher training, i need a job to get some pepper in the birdhouse! aw, this was still a good meal. i made the black beans in the crock pot yesterday, so they would be extra good today. some food, like beans and soups, taste better the day after you make them. oh, in addition to black pepper, i’m also missing avocado on this plate.

well, you know i spent some of my saturday cooking, but i also had lots of outdoor time with trixie! i also went for a bike ride to the boardwalk for a photo safari and i spent some time with my friends downtown. as if that wasn’t enough, i also added the cool slideshow you see on your right! oh my god, it took forever to build this into my wordpress theme, but i did it. obviously the sidebar still needs some ironing, but it’s a step in the right direction.

my saturday was well-rounded except for the lack of bikram. my body was feeling a little cranky this morning and i would have totally benefited from bikram, but a day of rest is a day of rest. i’m really liking this resting and that’s not laziness talking, i’m feeling a lot stronger in my abs. that happens every week, like they’ve spent all day pouring concrete along my abdominal wall, that’s what it feels like—concrete, chiseled. mmmmm, love the benefits of being a bikram bender! xo,m

outside the greek restaurant down the street from the yoga studio. once i get a job, i’m celebrating by eating here. can you tell what’s at the top of my mind? food and work!

another challenging bikram practise today. after, we discussed the merits of a day off. my teacher went to hawaii and only practised a handful of days, she said she felt stronger when she got back. after doing two years of bikram without one, my body really appreciates the day off. don’t forget to hydrate! ~m

“i am the little red rooster, too lazy to crow for day.”

little dead rooster. in the chicken house. the wide-angle lens on my iphone, gives that curved distortion to the wall in the background. i love that look! oh so sorry to report that not more than a few days later this rooster was dead. he was so good about posing this day, i really felt like he was taking a sort-of liking to me. i’m such a city kid, a few days after this photo was taken, my landlord was at my door with this guy’s liver, heart and some other parts in a bag for trixie. my landlord was so nonchalant about it, he had some treats for trixie, meanwhile i was freaking out, the rooster that’s been here for years? dead? and now i have his insides? oh my god. the worst thing is, it’s an old animal—any carnivore knows an old animal is only good for cat or dog food. trixie only likes junk food and wouldn’t touch any of the parts. my landlord din’t even eat any of him either, he tried, but even in death this rooster was too tough. oh, what a waste of an animal. he was sure pretty to look at it.

well, in any case, i hope your day was somewhere as nice as mine was. biked to bikram in the rain, wearing my yellow rain suit. um, gotta be honest, felt like taking today off. i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, no matter how much i don’t feel like going to bikram yoga, i’m never disappointed that i went. except for the day i pulled my back muscle. ha ha. just kidding, i’m glad it happened, i needed the ego kick to the balls, i was starting to think i was a bit of a bikram badass, lol.

anyway, despite the rain, i made it to bikram and practised next to one of my favorites. after class, ess and i went to her place. she’s a nanny and lives on rad property. since the family was away, the rats were gonna play and go hot tubbing, but with the rain, we decided to have food and play guitar hero. i’m not very good at video games, but it was fun. i know i should be doing other things, but with all the rain, today felt like a perfect day. see you tomorrow ~m